


Giving Them Something to Talk About

by misura



Category: Star Wars: Thrawn Series - Timothy Zahn (2017)
Genre: Book: Star Wars: Thrawn Series: Thrawn, M/M, Possessive Behavior, Protectiveness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-24
Updated: 2019-12-24
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:06:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,990
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21833395
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/misura/pseuds/misura
Summary: Half the people who hit on Eli seemed to think he was sleeping with Thrawn and would thus be in a position to give them all sorts of juicy information.The other half seemed to think he wasn't, but that Thrawn very much wanted him to and that this explained why he currently still held the rank of Ensign - an offense which should make him eager to tell them all they wanted to know about Thrawn.(Eli and Thrawn doing social stuff on Coruscant)
Relationships: Thrawn | Mitth'raw'nuruodo/Eli Vanto
Comments: 17
Kudos: 142
Collections: Yuletide 2019





	Giving Them Something to Talk About

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Aurae](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aurae/gifts).



"Has anyone ever told you that you have lovely eyes?" someone asked, and Eli turned around, drink in hand, smile plastered in place, determined not to show any hint of his thoughts.

 _Three people so far, as a matter of fact._ He'd also been complimented on his arms (two times), his uniform (now tied with his eyes for second place), his ass (in lead with five times) and the way he had handled 'the fly wheat crisis', which was nothing Eli had ever even heard of.

"Thank you," he said, giving the man a brief once-over. Half the people who hit on him seemed to think he was sleeping with Thrawn and would thus be in a position to give them all sorts of juicy information.

The other half seemed to think he wasn't, but that Thrawn very much wanted him to and that this explained why Eli currently still held the rank of Ensign - an offense which should make him eager to tell them all they wanted to know about Thrawn.

Eli was beginning to think he should make some things up - for his own amusement, if nothing else. Not that he actually would, of course: that would be irresponsible.

"They remind me of mud diamonds."

Eli dug through his memory, unsure whether he had just been insulted or if that was a genuine compliment. Not that it made all that much of a difference. He might not be sleeping with Thrawn, but that didn't mean he had any intention of sleeping with anyone else - least of all someone seeking to only use him for information.

"Ensign Vanto." The hand on his shoulder threw him for a moment, even if there was no mistaking Thrawn's voice. _He doesn't usually touch me like that in public._ Eli had always assumed that to be Thrawn's attempts to stop people from making assumptions about them - not that it had been at all effective, but then, even Thrawn couldn't be brilliant all the time.

"Sir," he said, feeling oddly embarrassed and even a tiny bit guilty. 

"You were looking uncomfortable," Thrawn said, using Sy Bisti. "May I provide any assistance?"

 _No, I think you've already provided plenty._ Going by the smug expression on his companion's face, the man had right away jumped to the wrong conclusion. It would be all over Coruscant by tomorrow morning. _Oh well. I suppose it's better than having people assume I hate him,_ Eli told himself. _If not by much._ Still, with any luck they'd be gone soon, off on another mission.

"No, thank you, sir," he said, realizing too late that he'd switched to Sy Bisti as well.

If he and Thrawn really _had_ been lovers, it would have been a very efficient way for them to be able to communicate in public without anyone knowing what they were saying. Though what they would be saying to each other in such an event, Eli didn't know. Thrawn hardly seemed the type to sweet-talk someone while he was working - and, of course, Thrawn was nearly always working.

Thrawn gave Eli's companion a long look. "You could do a lot better. There is no need for you to settle for someone like this. He will have forgotten your name inside of a week."

 _I wish,_ Eli thought, before it quite registered what Thrawn was saying, or rather: what Thrawn had assumed was going on. _To be fair, it's not that wrong of an assumption._ Still, the idea that Thrawn could believe Eli had been seriously considering to -

"Beg pardon?" Eli's companion asked, at which time Eli also noticed that Thrawn had spoken in Basic rather than Sy Bisti. _A bit slow tonight, Ensign Vanto?_ "I take offense at that, sir."

"Good," Thrawn said.

 _Not good,_ Eli thought, because anyone who didn't turn tail and walk away when he felt offended was either looking for trouble or very secure in his position. Or both, of course.

"I - we were just talking," he said, putting his hand on Thrawn's arm. _There goes my reputation._ Not that he'd been all that attached to the idea of Eli Vanto, Vigorous Defender of His Virtue. "There's no need for anyone to get offended."

"Very well. If you say so," Thrawn said. "Then, may I suggest we leave at once?"

 _Couldn't you have suggested that half an hour ago, or better yet: two?_ Some of the snacks had been excellent - Eli hadn't known that particular type of fish was even available on Coruscant, though of course the catering service for this party might have access to some markets not open to the more general public. Apart from that, though, Eli'd as soon not have come at all.

"Uh, sure." Eli wondered if he should move his hand, but then Thrawn put his own hand on top of Eli's, so that was that. Eli hoped Thrawn knew what he was doing and that it was actually what the rest of the universe thought he was doing, too - or at least the rest of Coruscant.

Fifteen minutes after they had left, Eli decided he'd had enough. "They're all going to think we're lovers now, you know."

"Many of them seemed to think so before," Thrawn said. His tone was vaguely puzzled.

"Well, after tonight, they'll think they have proof." Eli felt annoyed. _If it had been true, I might have been okay with it. I mean, it still would've sucked, but at least I'd have had - but I don't! This is so unfair!_ "Was that the plan? Did you think about that before you stepped in?"

"I thought that among the Chiss, if anyone had dared as he, I would have slaughtered him where he stood and claimed you as mine for all to see," Thrawn said.

"Oh." _Claimed me as his for all to see._ That probably didn't mean what Eli thought it meant. What he fantasized it meant - which was all it was, clearly: something for him to picture in the privacy of his bunk later tonight.

"Unless you would have wished that honor and pleasure for yourself," Thrawn added. "Of course."

"Of course," Eli agreed, still half-lost in his fantasies. "Uh. That's not really how things are done in the Empire."

"So I realize," Thrawn said. "And, naturally, there is also the fact that we are not - how do you say?"

 _Engaged in the sort of relationship where you go around slaughtering people for making me feel uncomfortable and I pay you back with semi-public sex._ "Lovers." _Which is a pity, obviously, because I feel that even if it wouldn't make my life any easier, I'm pretty sure it_ would _make it a whole lot more fun._ Though what should he expect Thrawn to be like in bed?

Skilled, probably. Quick to learn everything that Eli enjoyed. Attentive. Intense. Focused. Passionate? Eli didn't think he was quite capable of picturing a passionate Thrawn, but then, Thrawn _had_ casually offered to kill someone for him. More or less.

"Lovers," Thrawn repeated. "If I may ask, do you currently have a lover?"

 _Do you honestly think you wouldn't know about them if I did?_ "No," Eli said and then, before he came to his senses, "Do you?"

"I do not think my looks are to the taste of the people of the Empire." Thrawn shrugged. "Also, such a thing might prove a distraction, which I had rather avoid."

"Really?" The idea of Thrawn getting distracted definitely shouldn't be any kind of turn-on. After all, fairly often lives had depended on Thrawn's ability to read a situation and make a snap decision. "What about the other way around? Do we all look uh, weird and pale and weak to you?" _Please don't say 'yes'._ Though if they did, Eli supposed at least he'd know it wasn't him; it was just the way he looked. _Should I get some blue full-body make-up and some colored lenses?_

"Not at all," Thrawn said. "Some of you, certainly, but not all of you by any means. You, for example."

If he were a smart man, Eli thought, he'd find a way to change the subject now. Instead, being an idiot, he said, "Me?"

"I find your company enjoyable, your mind quick and flexible and your body - well, I do not wish to make you uncomfortable." Thrawn frowned. "I feel I have already said too much."

 _Please make me as uncomfortable as you want._ "No, no, not at all. That's good to know," Eli said. "I'm glad I don't repulse you or anything. And of course you don't - that is to say, I wouldn't want you to kill anyone on my behalf or anything, but I appreciate the thought."

"All is well, then," Thrawn said.

 _You mean, apart from the bit where everyone thinks we're sleeping together and the part where I wish that were true?_ "I suppose the party could have gone better. I don't think we made any new friends tonight."

"Allies," Thrawn corrected. "You, Ensign Vanto, are a friend. I do not have any illusion that I will find the likes of you in such a place as that."

_Actually, since I was there tonight, you would have been wrong._

"Nor would I wish to replace you," Thrawn went on. "You may not find my looks pleasing, but at least you do not let this distract you from what is important."

"I never said that." Had he? Eli supposed he hadn't _denied_ it, but that hadn't meant he agreed. "I just - you know, all those stories about the Chiss. I started out a bit wary."

Thrawn smiled. "Having heard some of those stories, I do not blame you. Even so, here I am. Am I like the Chiss from your stories? The Chiss from your childhood dreams and nightmares and fantasies?"

 _Yes._ Not that Eli had ever had _those_ kinds of fantasies about the Chiss before he'd met Thrawn, he didn't think. _All right, maybe I had a few._ "Not very much, no. Those guys probably would have turned that party into a bloodbath."

"You almost sound wistful. We could still go back if you like. I can not promise you a bloodbath, but I might try showing my teeth and frightening people by merely using my wits and words."

"I'd rather skip ahead to the next part," Eli said, then felt himself flush. "Um. That's to say - I meant - "

"When an entire people believe you to be something you are not, it may sometimes be easier to become that something than to stay true to what you know yourself to be," Thrawn said.

 _That sounds great, but I'm pretty sure that I'd be exactly what people believe I am, if only given half a chance._ The question, of course, was if this conversation right here was that half chance, or if this was only an opportunity to screw up his career as well as the rest of his life for good.

"I don't think there's all that many people that know who I am, sir, let alone whose opinion I actually give a damn about." In fact, Thrawn might be the only one. The others - well, Eli supposed he cared inasfar as it would influence his career and Thrawn's chances of getting them a nice new assignment.

"Then, may I take you to my apartment and show you the latest additions to my art collection?" Thrawn asked. "By which I mean that I have no intention of showing you the latest additions to my art collection, unless you have an interest in seeing them, in which case I would be happy to show them to you."

"I - think my own apartment may be closer?" It would almost certainly be less carefully watched, though Eli didn't have much hope there wouldn't be _someone_ in Coruscant who wouldn't know within the hour that he'd brought Thrawn home with him.

"I think you may be right." Thrawn smiled. "Shall we, then?"


End file.
